It took me a little while to digest this, as I went through a series of reactions.
First reaction: this confuses me, but looking at the subreddit, "antiwork" seems to be a synonym for "labor." I guess when you want to bring something back into style, you give it a fresh name. "Antiwork" is in the clickbait tradition of "abolish the police," or if "clickbait" feels too harsh, maybe it's more fair to say it's a feel-good way to combine progressive goals with radical feelings, tactics, and rhetoric.
Second reaction: on second thought, this has nothing in common with old-fashioned labor. It seems like it's just a bunch of people discovering that they already have the privilege of leaving jobs, turning down jobs, and demanding more in the market. These aren't the people who need a labor movement. They aren't organizing. They're getting what they want because they already have the individual power to get it.
Third reaction: wait, is "antiwork" just teaching people how to be good middle-class capitalist citizens? It sure seems like it. A decent percentage of the submissions seem to be complaining about some kinds advice for how to be successful at work (work hard, love what you do) while celebrating other kinds of advice about how to be successful at work (negotiate pay, negotiate time off, use your market power, walk away from bad situations.) All stuff that middle-class professionals take for granted, no mention of organized labor, just teaching the younger generation to act like good capitalists while they talk like radicals, no chance at all they'll carry this habit with them when they reach positions of authority and power....
Would it be overly conspiratorial to think this is the brainchild of some edgy gen-Z nerds at a conservative think tank?
A post that is linked in their FAQ:
> Should I burn my savings and take a year off? > I’m thinking of taking a year off to just study some online course, paint, write and play video games
From the top answer:
> I would suggest that you request some extended time off first. Make up a family emergency if you have to. A month or two might be enough to recharge
This is a hilarious. A guide to enjoying a privileged position within capitalism, framed as anti-capitalism.
EDIT: I just remembered this has a name: culture jamming. This is a picture-perfect example of it. You appropriate the style and medium of an established cultural force and use them ironically to undermine the force. In this case, using a lowbrow forum, anti-capitalist rhetoric, and the grievances of workers against management to make the pro-capitalist point that the market gives individuals the power to protect their own interests.